1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer security, and more particularly but not exclusively to methods and apparatus for protecting computers against virtual machine exploits.
2. Description of the Background Art
A virtual machine program comprises virtual machine code that is executed in a virtual machine (e.g., a JAVA Virtual Machine). In contrast to virtual machine code, native code is compiled or interpreted to run with a particular processor, such as an x-86 class processor. Malicious codes that take advantage of vulnerabilities of virtual machine programs are called “virtual machine exploits.” The number of virtual machine exploits continually increases, posing a serious danger to computers worldwide. Unfortunately, currently available antivirus solutions do not adequately protect computers from virtual machine exploits because a typical antivirus relies on traditional hook points that are too far removed from the virtual machine environment.